Kate Hackett
A woman named Jacqui (@jquelly on TikTok) went viral for sharing a real-life horror story about how she contracted worms from her pre-packed salads.
Jacqui posted two TikToks, both of which detail her horror over finding worms in her stool.
Her insurance chose not to cover antibiotics (because of course they didn’t) and Jacqui was forced to cover the $3,000 bill for her pills.
Jacqui sat down with BuzzFeed and explained that she believed the worms must have originated with her bagged salads.
She said she was in the throes of an eating disorder and eating nothing but those bagged salads.
“I was active in my eating disorder at the time, so I was only eating them once, maybe twice, a day. That was the only thing in my fridge besides the food for my kids,” Jacqui said to BuzzFeed.
Her doctor, she continued, had never seen a case such as hers.
“He didn’t even want to look at the pictures I had taken or the stool sample! It actually freaked him out a little! He immediately called in the infectious disease doctor to take a look and diagnose. Like I said in the video, the ID doctor was extremely excited about it. I live in Montana, where parasitic infections are rare to nonexistent so I think this was his weird version of Christmas morning!”
“However, the anti-parasitic worked really fast. Within 2–3 days, I didn’t see any more worms in my stool. The stomach aches went away within that time as well. It took a couple of weeks for the anemia to go away though, so I was still tired through that phase.”
BuzzFeed reached out to Dr. Supriya Rao. Dr. Rao is a physician who specializes in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and obesity medicine.
“Along with hookworm and whipworm, Ascaris is known as a soil-transmitted helminth (worm) and comprises the vast majority of parasitic infections in the world,” Dr. Rao explained. “It’s not that common in the US but can definitely still be seen. In fact, I’ve seen a few during colonoscopy. But overall, this is a very rare occurrence and is not isolated to bagged produce.
Meanwhile, Jacqui’s doctor and pharmacist were in a fight with her insurance over the medication.
“They were huge advocates for me. I was so severely anemic that I could hardly stay awake — was extremely weak and was having heart palpitations — so they did everything they could to try and get it covered. In the end, I had to pull from savings and borrow from family members. Insurance declined to cover it,” she said.
After Dr. Rao heard Jacqui’s story, he told BuzzFeed:
“People who contract Ascaris may not have any symptoms at all, but may have some nonspecific symptoms like abdominal discomfort/pain, fatigue, cough, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea or poor appetite. It can also cause growth impairment or malnutrition in children. If the burden of worms is high in the intestines, they can form an intestinal blockage.”
Jacqui has learned some valuable lessons, namely: wash your food.
“I hope people can learn from my story that paying attention to your body, having an open line of communication with your doctor, and washing your produce is so important! Practice good hygiene by washing your hands and surfaces you’re prepping food on can save your life… and maybe just prep your own salads from now on. It’s cheaper (and fresher) anyways!”
